Web Design Patterns #2

1. Web Design Patterns #2

2. Outline • Review • PERSONALIZED CONTENT (D4) • INVERSE PYRAMID WRITING STYLE (D7) • Announcements • Non-intuitive empirical results • SHOPPING CART (F3)

3. Review • Design patterns allow us to? • reuse design knowledge • Previously used in? • architecture & S/E • Web design patterns leverage • people’s usage habits on/off-line • HOMEPAGE PORTAL (C1) pattern solution • make a positive first impression • focus on a single item • build your site brand • make navigation easy • lure visitors to return • make it download fast

4. PERSONALIZED CONTENT (D4) • Problem • web sites would like to have visitors return often • to buy, see ads, use services, etc. • if your content isn’t changing & personal, users less likely to return or stay • personalized info is more useful to people than generic info. Engineering a dynamic site is difficult if the basic structures & designs are not in place • Solution • personalization • a home page that is customized for each visitor

5. PERSONALIZED CONTENT (D4)Solution Diagram

6. How to Personalize Your Page • Gather information from guest profiles & use it to build a site that • holds their interest • looks customized just for them • Visitors will need to trust you • to give this information directory/indirectly • must use for their benefit only • Four ways to collect information? • edit, interview, deduce, collaborative filter

7. How to Personalize Your Page

8. Editing Personalization Info • Visitors click on buttons to make selections from lists • weather cities • news sources • stocks to follow • sports to follow • … • Include CONTENT MODULES (D2) based directly on selections • Drawbacks to this approach? • can get tedious if you have to do it repeatedly • users won’t spend time entering info if little benefit my.yahoo.com is a good example of editing for personalization

9. Interviewing for Personalization Info (?) • Visitors answer multiple choice questions • Update guest profile • Include CONTENT MODULES (D2) based on one or more scoring methods • Allow the option of continuing the personalization process over time

10. Deduction for Personalization Info (?) • Watch visitors behavior • Amazon tracks the books visitors order & later offers similar books • Update guest profile • Select CONTENT MODULES (D2) based on scoring method

11. Collaborative Filtering for Personalization Info • First provide popular content based on all visitors • Provide customized CONTENT MODULES (D2) based on similar guest profiles • use correlation of profiles to determine areas of interest

12. Scoring Methods to Match Content to Audience • Rank • show ordered list of content • Top rank • content of only the top few scores shown • Threshold score • show all content over a particular score • Required attributes • show all content that is on “NCAA Sports” • Combination • e.g., job site might use top rank & required attributes to show best jobs a person is qualified for

13. INVERSE PYRAMID WRITING STYLE (D7) • Problem • 25% slower to read from a computer screen • web surfers want immediate gratification or they will leave – they want web pages that are • delivered quickly • easy to use • quick to skim • Solution (?) • give the conclusions first • add detail later for those that want it

14. Inverse Pyramid Writing This is the short blurb describing the article This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text To see how well this thing w This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text To see how well this thing works This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text Does this work at all? I don’t know. I am in love with XXX To see how well this thing works This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text Does this work at all? I don’t know. This is some nonsensical text This is some the dog is barking nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text Does this work at all? I don’t know. What is love? What is the good life? What is, and is not? That which is, is. The world is all that exists. Nothing unreal exists, metaphysics law #1. This is some the the the the nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text Does this work at all? I don’t know. This is Is there a god? Are we a quantum accident? Will we ever know? Are there questions that should never be asked? What is the nature of goodness? Why are we so mean to each other? How can we be so cruel to one another? This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text To see how well this thing works This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text To see how well this thing works This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical What is good in life, he asks? That is a question we may never have an answer to. is some nonsensical text This is some nonsensical text This is some Most important info Title Short Blurbs Summaries Overviews Teasers . . . Less important info Background Information Supporting Details Long Quotes INVERSE PYRAMID WRITING STYLE (D7)

15. Journalists Use Inverted Pyramid from www.nytimes.com

16. ZDNet Uses Inverted Pyramid • Start with a good concise title • reflect the content • Continue with the most important points • use hypertext to split-up information • people often won’t scroll or read • Use less text • 50% less than you would offline • Use a simple writing style • simple sentences -- no hype or advertising • Use EMBEDDED LINKS (K7) to help visitors find more information • Use bullets and numbered lists • supports skimming

17. Using Bullets

18. ZDNet Uses Inverted Pyramid • Start with a good concise title • reflect the content • Continue with the most important points • use hypertext to split-up information • people often won’t scroll or read • Use less text • 50% less than you would offline • Use a simple writing style • simple sentences -- no hype or advertising • Use EMBEDDED LINKS (K7) to help visitors find more information • Use bullets and numbered lists • supports skimming • Use different style for entertainment site

19. Announcements • Turn in HE homework • Questions???? • Interactive Prototype #1 assignment out this afternoon • presentations due on 3/18 • write-up due on 3/20 • one of the harder assignments – start today!

20. Non-intuitive Empirical Results • Studied usability of 9 major web sites • including C|Net, Disney, HP, Fidelity, etc. • Performed by consulting company • User Interface Engineering, Jared M. Spool • http://www.uie.com • Data • “dozens” of hours of user observations • detailed analysis of site composition • task to find particular information from each site

21. Empirical Results (cont.) • None were very good • Bad ones • home pages offered little direction on content • “Readable” pages were less effective • people don’t read, they skim • nicely formed sentences hide key information

22. Empirical Results (cont.) • Download time wasn’t a big issue • no correlation between time and frustration • Graphic design had very little effect • take a look at Yahoo • may be important for brand, marketing, etc. • Navigation must be linked to content • if not, users found sites less usable • forget about designing separately (“shell” sites) • if can remove ½ of content without changing home page, then it is a shell site • generic links do not give users predictable results

23. Empirical Results (cont.) • None were very good • Bad ones • home pages offered little direction on content • “Readable” pages were less effective • people don’t read, they skim • nicely formed sentences hide key information

24. Empirical Results (cont.) • Download time wasn’t a big issue • no correlation between time and frustration • Graphic design had very little effect • take a look at Yahoo • may be important for brand, marketing, etc. • Navigation must be linked to content • if not, users found sites less usable • forget about designing separately (“shell” sites) • if can remove ½ of content without changing home page, then it is a shell site • generic links do not give users predictable results

25. Empirical Results (cont.) • Violating the “sales script” • standard human-human sales situations • browse and then give personal info when you buy • employees wear name tags • web-based situations that violate this fail • users driven away by giving personal info first • you must first build trust!

26. Animation • Higher click-thru rates, but • annoyed users • scrolled, covered with hands... • animation makes it much harder to read/skim • Could be useful in conveying information • they found no examples of this • “Surfing” different from info. retrieval • may not be able to design a site for both

27. Frames

28. Frames

29. Empirical Results (cont.) • Frames • not so bad, but • make sure large frame changes are obvious as a result of clicks in small (TOC) frame

30. Links • Users had trouble with short links • “If you click on Disneyland, will you get a map of the park? Ticket Information, etc?” • Longer links clearly set expectations • “How to Read the Pricing and Rating Listings” • “Pricing (How to Read Pricing & Rating Listings) • Links embedded in paragraphs are worse • hard to find information • can’t skim - must now read • Text links used before graphical links

31. Links (cont.) • Within-page links • sometimes confusing if user scrolls & has read material already • make shorter pages to avoid • Wrapped links caused confusion • tradeoff here...

32. Good Links

33. Shopping Cart • Problem? • how to allow customers to purchase multiple items in one transaction • Solution • use shopping cart metaphor to keep track of items before customer finalizes the purchase • track name, quantity, availability, & price

34. How to Apply Shopping Carts • Make available on each page andeasy to add items from product pages? • make it easy for people to buy! • seems obvious, but many sites don’t do it

35. name w/ link to detail quantity w/ a way to change price availability short description a way to remove item How to Apply Shopping Carts • Provide detailed info on each item in cart

36. How to Apply Shopping Carts • Provide info about all items in cart • sub-totals • shipping, taxes, other charges (if known) • prevent unpleasant surprises

37. How to Apply Shopping Carts • Provide a prominent link to CHECKOUT

38. How to Apply Shopping Carts • Have a link to let people continue shopping

39. How to Apply Shopping Carts • Don’t let unavailable things be added • hard to find a good example of this

41. Summary • Personalization. Why? • if content isn’t fresh, visitors won’t return • four ways to collect information? • edit, interview, deduce, collaborative filter • Key idea to inverse-pyramid writing style? • start with the conclusions & add details below • Non-intuitive empirical results • “readable” pages were less effective. why? • users scan! – the style of links matters • navigation must be linked to content. why? • so users can predict where links will take them • don’t violate the “sales script.” why? • user’s must trust you before giving personal info